Galeno ‘commentatore’ di Giovenale? A proposito dei pesci tiberini (Juven. Sat. V 104 et Gal. Alim. fac. VI 722,3 K.)

Galen commentator of Juvenal ? Concerning the fishes called ‘Tiberini’ · This article examines a much-debated verse from Juvenal’s Satire v (v. 104) concerning the “Tiberinus fish” in relation to a passage from Galen’s De alimentorum facultatibus. The author suggests that Galen’s text offers not only an illuminating parallel for understanding Juvenal’s verse, but might also represent a rare example of cultural contact between Latin literature and the Greek physician. After analyzing various philological interpretations of the term “glacie” in Juvenal’s verse, and hypoteses that consider it a corruption, the article suggests that, based on Galen’s observations about fish preservation in ice, Juvenal’s verse could be considered correct. Finally, the author proposes to identify Juvenal’s fish with the Barbus Tiberinus (Tiber barbel), a fish that matches both Juvenal’s and Galen’s descriptions in terms of physical characteristics and habitat.